Spirits
by MurdocsAngel
Summary: Ten year old Lloyd Irving was captured by the Desians, only to be rescued by an angel. Unknown to him, that angel only wants to use him as a tool to communicate with the goddess Martel...
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Tales of Symphonia

Summary: Ten year old Lloyd Irving was captured by the Desians, only to be rescued by an angel. Unknown to him, that angel only wants to use him as a tool to communicate with the goddess Martel...

**Spirits**

Chapter One

A pair of brown eyes peeked over the edge of a table where a dwarf worked, tools of his trade spread out before him.

"I told ya ta play outside until I was done Lloyd," said the dwarf without looking up from his work. "You promised to behave if I brought you with me; don't make me regret that decision."

With a heavy sigh, the owner of the brown eyes stood up to reveal a boy no more than ten years old dressed in an over sized red shirt and baggy blue pants that were stuffed into a pair of old, worn, brown boots. Tousled brown locks that stuck up everywhere and a dirty face completed the ensemble, making him look like a wayward urchin. Lloyd, as the dwarf had called him, leaned forward and placed his hands on the table, a pleading look on his face.

"But I want to watch you."

Now the dwarf did look up, censure in the blue gaze he turned on the boy that quickly became resignation as he took in Lloyd's appearance. "Why aren't you wearing the clothes I made you?"

Surprised, Lloyd looked down at himself, then frowned as he looked back up. "I am wearing the clothes you made."

"No, those are _my_ clothes, Lloyd. Yours would actually fit you."

"They're really itchy, Dad..."

Making a tching noise under his breath, the dwarf stood up. He was only an inch or two taller than the boy, but Lloyd still shrank back a little. "Didn't you wash them like I asked you to?"

"Uh..." began Lloyd as he flushed red and rubbed the back of his head with his hand. "I guess I forgot. Heh. But anyway," he continued, changing the subject, "why can't I watch? I thought that was why you brought me."

"Because," said the dwarf as he gently put a hand on his son's shoulder and led him to the door, "this particular item I'm making is in the strictest of confidentiality. That means," he added as Lloyd's brow furrowed in confusion, "that I'm not allowed ta tell anyone about this, or show them what it is. After I'm done, I have a few commissions in Palmacosta that I brought you along to help with; they're simple customization jobs that I think you're old enough to handle now."

"Really?"

"Yes, but only if you go outside now and leave me in peace."

"Okay!"

Lloyd rushed out the door and down the spiral staircase that led into the main congregation area of the House of Salvation, and then, after nearly knocking an older man down, ran outside where he found a small bench to sit on. He had already deemed it his bench earlier, before he'd grown bored with his play and gone to see what his dad was up to. Now, he sat with his feet swinging slightly and tried to think up a new game.

It really wasn't much fun playing by yourself, and none of the travelers had any children with them and definitely had no time for a bored little boy. He really wished Colette could be here, or even Noishe who enjoyed playing the mighty steed of the great knight, but Colette wasn't allowed to leave Iselia and Noishe, though huge was terrified of monsters and Dad had decided it would be best to leave the dog at home.

Thankfully, the priests at the temple and High Priestess Phaidra had agreed to feed Noishe if he would stay just outside the temple entrance. That way, Colette could still have someone to play with and Noishe wouldn't get lonely.

Of course, now Lloyd was lonely. Taking a deep breath, he stood up and began scanning the ground surrounding the House of Salvation for any sticks. "Don't worry, invisible army, as soon as I can get the famous sword Flamberge, I will save you from the wicked Desians that put the curse upon you!" Lloyd cried out suddenly, startling a couple who had just walked up the path.

Flamberge was the name of a sword he'd seen in one of his dad's books. Lloyd remembered every detail of the fiery blade almost as if it had burned itself into his mind. Shorter than a broadsword but just as wide, curved slightly, and notched at the end, Lloyd had asked his dad if the dwarf could make it for him. "You're a little young for swords," his dad had said, and that had been the end of that discussion.

So, that particular sword became the central theme to any of his make-believe games. Sometimes he was a priest who was looking for a way to take his revenge on the Desians who had killed his charge, the Chosen (Colette always played this with him; it was partly her idea), and the sword Flamberge imbued special powers on the wielder. Other times, it was like what he was pretending now; he was a mercenary or general trying to save the people he loved and admired and only Flamberge could do this.

Unfortunately, unlike Iselia, which was very near a forest, this particular House of Salvation sat on the grassy plains, so there weren't any good sticks to use. This didn't stop Lloyd though, as he found a particularly nice rock and picked it up. "Those Desians," he muttered, "They have stolen the sword, but with this magic stone, I will be able to transport myself to them and take it back."

And so it went, with him having imaginary discussions with his troop captain who was the only one that could be heard and Lloyd was the only one who could hear him, on how to activate the magic stone and what tasks he had to complete in order to get to the Desians until he got bored again. Sighing, he went back to his bench, only to recoil in shock and disgust as he saw the couple from earlier sitting there cuddling.

"Yuck," he said, wrinkling his nose.

The young man looked up and grinned at him. "One day, you won't find it so yucky, trust me."

Lloyd stuck out his tongue and shook his head before replying, "Uh-uh, I don't think so."

The girl giggled. "Aw, you're so cute. Did you manage to save your army from the Desians?"

Deciding to forgive them for being yucky, Lloyd shook his head. "Nope, they all died in a horrible rock slide caused by an earthquake. Luckily though, it got rid of the Desians too."

"Oh? If only it were that simple," the young man said, looking at his girlfriend with worry. The girl smiled at him and put her hand on his. He shook himself and smiled at Lloyd again. "Where are your parents?"

Lloyd plopped himself down on the ground in front of them, having decided that they were his best friends now. "My dad's inside doing some craft work; he says it's confid..conf..um...that only he is allowed to know what it is."

"Oh, probably something the church has commissioned," the girl said, "a divine something or other. My name's Olga and this is Olaf." She gestured to her boyfriend.

Before Lloyd could respond, there was a loud explosion. Olga gasped and clutched at Olaf as she looked around wildly for the source. "They...they can't have found us already?"

"Never mind, just get inside," said Olaf as he stood and grabbed her hand, "You too kid." Without waiting for acquiescence, he pulled the girl along unresisting to the sanctuary.

For a moment, Lloyd considered following them, his heart beating very fast as the loud boom of more explosions made their way to his ears. For a moment. Then, his natural curiosity overrode his fear and he crept down the dirt path, keeping as close to the small wooden fence as he could, as it curved around to the other side of the House of Salvation.

At first, all he could see where clouds of dust billowing in the air that seemed to be getting closer. As they neared, Lloyd's heart began beating wildly again because it looked like a group of people being chased down by men in blue armor, with a few of them using fire and lightning magic—the cause of the explosions. Desians.

Without pausing to think, he looked down, picked up the biggest rock he could find and ran out to meet the oncoming group.

"Get out of here, child!"

"Oh sweet Martel, don't try to fight them..."

"Damn, kid..."

That and more met Lloyd's ears as he shoved his way through the group of humans the Desians had slowly been herding towards this area, but he ignored them, determined to do something. How dare they try to hurt people? Oddly enough, though they protested, no one actually tried to physically hold him back.

When he had made his way to the other side of the group, he picked out the likely Desian commander and let loose the rock. It hit the man in the head dead-on, thanks to lots of target practice in the Iselia woods trying to keep rabbits away from Noishe, but wasn't enough to do more than daze him thanks to the protective helmet he wore.

"You Desians leave these people alone!"

Everything went unnaturally quiet then as all eyes turned to Lloyd. He swallowed fearfully, but stood his ground, glaring his defiance.

Finally, a Desian broke the silence by laughing. "I'm impressed. Lord K'var is looking for one like you."

Lloyd scowled in the direction of the voice and found himself looking at the man he'd hit with the rock. That smile gave him the creeps, especially since he couldn't see the eyes. Still, he held his ground, thinking about his dad back in the House. What if they decided to attack the sanctuary, in spite of the rumors that the Desians feared anything to do with Martel?

The Desian laughed again and strode forward, easily picked Lloyd up and held his struggling form under one arm. "The rest of you, get the host bodies to the Eastern Ranch as soon as possible. Thanks to them, we've found a subject for our leader, and I will be taking him back to the Asgard Ranch as soon as possible."

Lloyd growled and continued to struggle, swinging his arms and legs wildly to no avail. "Put me down you...you...Desian!"

"Temper, temper," the man said in amusement, as if Lloyd were merely a bad child he needed to reprimand, and continued walking on, looking back over his shoulder as if to ascertain that his other orders were being carried out.

(((((((((( 

_Those images...I saw so many images...were they from the Goddess?_

_She spoke to me...I couldn't hear her voice...but she spoke to me...she was so sad..._

_Oh, I was visited by Martel. Is it thus that I am not fit to be in Her divine presence?_

Those words and many more reverberated through his skull as he stood looking up at the ghostly shape entwined with a flower shaped of mana-the great seed. Was Martel trying to tell him something through those failed vessels? Had he been too hasty in killing them immediately after their failures?

The fact that he could be missing something his dear sister was trying to tell him, haunted him. Would Kratos have betrayed him if he had known Martel was trying to speak? Would those Chosens have been better vessels if only they had known what Martel truly wanted? But, he couldn't afford to sacrifice this Chosen for such an experiment. She was too close a match, and besides, if it failed this time there wouldn't be enough mana to sustain Sylvarant. That world would die, and Tethe'alla, linked explicitly with it would perish alongside.

Yggdrasil, leader of Cruxis, paced back and forth through the Seed Chamber. Perhaps he could he use one of the ranch prisoners? A young human no one would miss...

A smile crept across his face but didn't reach his eyes. Yes...

(((((((((( 

Lloyd huddled in a corner of the cell he had been placed by himself, shivering in the threadbare grey tunic and trousers the Desians had made him put on. How many times had Dad told him not to go rushing off without thinking? A lot of times, usually right after Lloyd fell in a creek because he wasn't looking, or when he had thought Colette was being held captive at the Martel Temple and tried to break in...

_Colette. _Silent tears rolled down his face and he buried his head in his arms, miserable with sudden loneliness. Would he ever get to see any of them again?

"Is that the one?" A cold, cruel voice broke through the gloomy silence of the room. "He doesn't look like much, does he?"

"I can assure you Lord K'var, that this boy is everything you're looking for," said the hated voice of the Desian who had captured Lloyd, "I've got the bite marks to prove it."

So fast his neck almost snapped, Lloyd looked up and glared at the two Desians on the other side of the bars. One was still dressed in a blue uniform, but the other was resplendent in royal blue robes and jewelery. This Desian was without a helmet and his blond-white hair was carefully styled. He was smiling at Lloyd in a way that made him want to curl up into a little ball and hide.

"Ah, yes. So the little inferior brat shows some spirit. Hm...bring him along to the testing room. I want to see if he can survive a battery of tests. If he does, then he'll be perfect...if not...well, it will be one last human to worry about."

"Hey, I'm sitting right here you know?" Lloyd said, full of bravado. He was afraid that if he showed his fear, they'd kill him right away.

Ignoring Lloyd, the richly dressed Desian walked away, as the other opened the cell doors. Lloyd was ready for this and darted out and around him, and started off down the corridor. Before he could get anywhere, his whole body seized up and he began shaking uncontrollably with pain as an electric shock jolted through his system. When it had done, he fell to his knees panting.

"That was only a small one, human," the Desian told Lloyd as he picked him up, "try anything like that again, and you'll be fried enough to feed to the monsters, no matter what Lord K'var is expecting of you. We can always find another one."

Lloyd hung limply from the Desians arms, too weakened to even struggle, but thinking murderous thoughts.

Soon enough, they were in a room with machines and things Lloyd had never set eyes on. The Desian put him down on a table and strapped cold metal onto his hands and legs, tightening them almost painfully, before walking over to stand beside a wall with lots of little blinking lights. The other Desian, the one in the robes, stood beside him and smiled that creepy smile.

"Stupid Desians! I hate you!"

As if Lloyd hadn't said anything, the creepy one reached over and flicked a switch. "And now the tests begin."

Agonizing pain, worse than the electric jolt he'd just received, exploded behind his eyes and moved down through his body.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

The walls of the House of Salvation were well insulated, so Dirk continued his work on the commission the priest had paid him for, unaware of the events taking place outside.

This particular piece wasn't that hard to duplicate. The real Spiritua statues were dwarf-made after all. However, diamonds were impossible to find nowadays, so he had to make do with a crystal substitute that only a true crafter or collector would be able to tell the difference.

As he worked, he felt a little guilty about banishing Lloyd outside. After all, he wanted the boy to take after him; Lloyd was extremely gifted in the arts for a human. It was just that the boy would sometimes speak before thinking and the young priest that had lost the Spiritua statue didn't want people to know, said it might make people lose their faith or something.

Dirk felt that was a lot of nonsense. If people were going to lose their faith over the loss of a statue, then they weren't that faithful to begin with. Still, the young man had been earnest in his request, and it had reminded him of Lloyd when the boy did something he knew he'd get in trouble for and really wanted to make up for it, so he'd accepted.

Sighing, Dirk stretched a little before standing up. The main cast had been done; now was the long wait for it to dry and then he could set the gem. Only one more day at the sanctuary and then he could take Lloyd to Palmacosta as promised to help him with those small commissions.

He was actually surprised that Lloyd hadn't come back to bother him after growing bored with his games, like he had earlier. "I'd better check on him, hope he hasn't found someone else to bother," Dirk muttered to himself with a bit of amusement before walking down the spiral staircase.

He frowned at the sight that met his eyes. About a dozen people were milling about with worried and fearful looks, some more dazed than others as the two priests that maintained the House of Salvation walked through them and comforted them. For there being so many people, it was oddly silent, and sent a shiver of fear through Dirk.

"Lloyd."

Dirk pushed his way through the crowd, apologizing a few times to people whose toes he stepped on. When he reached the door, and still hadn't seen his son, he began to panic.

"Are you looking for something, Mr. Irving?"

Dirk turned around and looked up at the priest who had spoken. "Ah, yeah...my son..."

The priests brows drew together in concentration as he too looked around the room, his taller stature giving him an advantage. "I...haven't seen any children, sir," he said finally.

"Ah, he's probably just outside...what happened anyway?" _Please not Desians...oh Lloyd, please tell me you didn't try to stop any Desians..._

"No one knows for certain," the priest said, "just that they heard some loud noises and became fearful."

"It was the Desians," said a weak voice by the door.

Dirk jumped slightly. He hadn't even noticed the woman sitting on the floor, practically hidden by the decorative facade.

"They were escorting us to the ranch...and then..." the woman stopped and coughed, seemingly unaware that all eyes were now on her.

The priest and Dirk both knelt next to her. At first, he had taken her to be very old, but closer he could tell that she couldn't be more than sixteen, if that. "It's all right, take your time," Dirk told her, even though his heart was beating painfully with fear and anger. He put his hand on hers, then frowned as it met something other than skin. "An...exsphere?"

The girl shrugged. "They put it on me at the ranch. I can feel it...taking my energy..."

"Aye, that's what an exsphere without a Key Crest will do I'm afraid. I have a bit of inhibitor ore with me; I can make you an accessory that will allow it to be removed safely." He was stalling, and he knew it. The girl seemed to know it too.

"Thank you, but, I'm afraid I don't deserve it. I...when the little boy stood up to the Desians, I used the confusion to run away."

"Ah..." Dirk turned away, not because he was ashamed of her; how could he blame her for wanting to get away from her tormentors? No, it was to hide the tears that had suddenly appeared in his eyes. _Ah, lad, why? Haven't I told you about thinking before you take action?_

"Dirk..."

"I'll go and make that accessory; the longer the exsphere remains, the more sick you become." _And then I'll go after the Desians. _

A hand on his shoulder made him pause. He looked up into the face of a young man with wiry black hair and blue eyes. "May I come with you? I may have some news that will hearten you."

Dirk nodded and beckoned him to follow him up to his work station. The Spiritua statue was drying in a special case so it wouldn't be seen by anyone unless they knew what to look for. Taking up his bag, he rummaged in it until he found the bit of inhibitor ore he'd stashed away, just in case, and then sat at the table and began to work.

"Go ahead," he told the man, "tell me this news."

"I am a part of an organization dedicated to rescuing prisoners of the Desians, or if we can't rescue them, at least we can assure their loved ones that they are alive and...well alive."

"If you think I'm going to leave my son with those..."

"I understand, but if you try to break into the ranch to save him..." The man stood up and paced. "There are thousands of ranch prisoners. Thousands. And the Desians number twice that and have magitechnology at their disposal; even if we could stage an uprising, the Desians have the advantage and it would cause more pointless deaths.

"In seven years, the Oracle will be conveyed and the Chosen will lead the world to salvation. The Desians will be sealed away once more and everyone can rest free in a newly regenerated world. Until that day, we do what we can to ease the suffering of those taken by the Desians, without causing injury to others."

Dirk didn't look up from his hands as the words filtered through his head. The same words, almost, that he had planned on telling Lloyd should the boy every find out the truth about his mother's death.

"I..."

"Listen. Finish your work here, then go back to your home. I'll have my agents try to find news of your boy. If we are able to get him out, we will; children are our first priority in any case." The man stopped pacing and put his hands on the table, echoing what Lloyd had done only just that day. "My name is Olaf. Just give any passing merchant my name and yours, and they'll give you any information I have."

"All right."

"Good."

XXX

Darkness clouded Lloyd's vision as he lay on a cold slab of metal, breath little more than jagged gasps as each rise and fall of his chest caused a sharp pain to shoot through his body. He didn't know how long they had tortured him, or even if they had actually stopped. Twice, he had fallen into a pain-filled dream-like state in which the torment he endured finally stopped; it wasn't too much of a leap to think that this could be yet another one.

_Colette. Noishe. Dad._ The litany repeated itself, as visions of each beloved figure flashed in front of him. The sweet blue-eyed blonde girl whose ready smile always cheered him up. The huge green and white dog that he had slept with at night for the first few years after he'd been found wandering in the forest to keep the nightmares at bay. The red-bearded dwarf, Dirk Irving, who he had finally begun to think of as a father.

And through it all, interspersed with remembered pain and mocking laughter, was the vision of a man in white with a sword glowing the red of flames and bright white lights raining down from the sky...

"If we push him any further, he'll be useless for the experiment." A cold and cruel voice interrupted on the edge of consciousness. A hated voice. "The exsphere will take over his body far too soon for our purposes."

"Ah, yes my Lord. We'll leave him to heal for now then. Still, it is most auspicious that he has survived so far, is it not?"

"Yes." Higher, crueler...an unholy excitement filled the hated voice. "His spirit is greater even than that of A012..."

The voices faded out as Lloyd slipped into a deep and troubled sleep, filled with dreams of pain and cold, high pitched laughter.

He woke up some time after to find another Desian he hadn't seen before standing over him. This one also had no uniform, but instead of the gaudy, flashy robes of the other, he wore only a simple robe that allowed ease of movement. He was tall and heavily muscled, with spiky black hair. Even if Lloyd hadn't been so weak, he probably couldn't have got around this guy.

"It's such a shame," the Desian murmured, "that I can't do any more to help you than this. But our goals are much larger than one small human. Still. I will give you the comfort that you desire."

A wave of cool energy flowed through his body, soothing and relaxing all the muscles and nerves that had previously been on fire. Lloyd stared at the man in confusion. "Why?"

The new Desian ignored him and began undoing all the metal pieces that held Lloyd to the table. "If you want to escape, go the the passage below this one. Directly below, and nowhere else or you'll be detected. There's a small shaft that connects that room to the outside. Go quickly, there's not much time before the sensors come back on."

Before Lloyd could ask why again, the Desian was gone. Suspicious, Lloyd sat very still for a while. What if it was a trick? A trick to make them hurt him more? He shuddered, then shook his head. Who cared? He'd rather make them kill him than remain in this stupid room with this stupid machinery and have that stupid, creepy Desian, laughing that stupid laugh.

Decision made, Lloyd rolled off of the table, hitting the ground flat on his face. "Ow..." He stood up, this time slowly, and looked around before walking shakily out of the room. He must have been tied up in there for a longer time than he thought.

And so he set off, to hopeful freedom.

XXX

It was the first time in almost four-thousand years that Yggdrasil had descended to either of the worlds below Derris-Kharlan. Four thousand years since he had fused Martel's spirit with that of the Great Seed, and set out on his promise to make the world a place without discrimination. For a brief moment, as Sylvarant's meager amount of mana swirled around him in eddies and flows, he was struck with memories.

Only a moment though, before he brushed them aside and continued on his way to the Asgard ranch. He could simply have ordered K'var to send him a few dozen or so young humans, but some instinct kept him from doing so. There were always the renegades to consider, and though he was sure they couldn't figure out what he was going to do with those humans, there was a slim chance they might. Besides, this way he could choose the human himself and 'rescue' them from the Desians, placing them in his debt.

Dressed in the green and silver of Rodyle's soldiers, with a helmet to cover his distinguishing features—feathered to show his rank, Yggdrasil presented himself to the two female lancers guarding the entrance.

"I bring a message to Lord K'var from Lord Rodyle."

The two women glanced at each other uncertainly before the one on the left hefted her spear threateningly. "Rodyle is not welcomed at this ranch, Commander."

Not entirely feigning surprise, Yggdrasil shook his head. "I hadn't heard," he said, "all I know is that he had information on the Angelus project he wished to share with the leader of this facility." _What is going on? First K'var experiments with Cruxis Crystals against my wishes, and now, he is forbidding other Grand Cardinals entrance? Is this...what happened to the others before them? Were their deaths more than just old age or coincidence?_

_Were all his plans...being undermined by those they favored the most? _Yggdrasil mentally shook off the sudden doubts. Of course not, he was simply being paranoid. Likely Rodyle had simply offended K'var in some way; not surprising since the purple-haired half-elf seemed to have been born for just that purpose.

Once his Age of Lifeless Beings began, those petty squabbles would be laid aside...

"Wait here," the guard on the right told him, interrupting his thoughts, "I'll...go and see if you are allowed entry."

Fighting the impatient urge to just blast these fools aside, Yggdrasil tapped his foot against the ground even as he maintained an air of aloof nonchalance befitting his rank of Commander, as if he hadn't a care in the world. Had he known the two Grand Cardinals were arguing, he'd have chosen Magnius or Forcystus to be affiliated with. He'd have to speak to Pronyma later...

He jumped aside just as a spark of lightning hit the ground where he had been standing. He looked up and scowled at the two guards as they advanced on him.

"Lord K'var has ordered your death," said the one who had left and returned to strike him.

"Ah, how unfortunate for K'var," Yggdrasil murmured, tired of this petty game, and revealed his true form. "You will take me to him now or face Divine Judgment; on second thought, you will face my wrath now." As he spoke, he blasted the two away with an icy spell and walked through the gates into the stockade unheeded.

Unlike the ranches of the other Grand Cardinals, K'var's was laid out in a way that used an unseemly amount of mana. Yggdrasil scowled. K'var was most certainly going to be punished for this; possibly even given a demotion.

Yggdrasil's scowl deepened as the expected ambush from inside the facility didn't happen. In fact, there didn't seem to be any guards here at all. "Typical. I suppose he thought the gate guards were plenty to keep him safe, more fool he."

Almost as soon as he spoke, the alarms started flashing, and a group of Desians headed by a half-elf Yggdrasil had never seen before ran past him. The leader stopped for a minute and looked around, as if trying to find something, before meeting Yggdrasil's gaze. His brow furrowed in confusion, but then one of his men shouted to him and he turned and ran.

"Damn Renegades!" A couple of soldiers ran up to Yggdrasil and pointed their crossbows at him. "Halt, our leader wishes to...speak with you."

"And I wish to speak with him," Yggdrasil said haughtily, holding out his hand again, "but it will be on _my_ terms." The soldiers were blasted into the wall and Yggdrasil continued on.

The next scene he came upon gave him pause. Though K'var was there, along with another Desian, there was also a young human boy. The boy was crouched on the ground and looked ready to spring at either of the Desians if the approached him.

Unfortunately for K'var, he either didn't notice or didn't think there would be any danger; he reached out for the boy, snarling in anger.

The boy leaped at him, slashing out with one arm, causing K'var to scream in agony and shove the boy away. The force of the blow was enough to knock the kid into the wall with a loud crack that made Yggdrasil wince. The boy lay unmoving after that.

Before K'var could do more in retaliation, Yggdrasil stepped in. "This child is of the mana lineage," he lied, "why is he here in the ranch? You know the rules."

"L...Lord Yggdrasil!" K'var hastily dropped to one knee, one hand holding his face to stem the blood that had already covered most of it.

"K'var. I'm of the mind that you've grown complacent in your role here."

"N..no, my Lord. I merely experiment upon these inferior beings so that I may create something that will please you."

"Hm."

Yggdrasil turned away and looked down at the boy; he was still breathing, and he seemed to be waking up. "This boy is quite strong..."

"Yes, my Lord," K'var said eagerly, "that's why I was going to use him as the next subject for the Angelus project, since the other one was...stolen."

"As I said, he is of the mana lineage." Yggdrasil stooped and picked the boy up. "I am taking him with me. K'var, I will have Pronyma give you a list of things you are to do to improve this ranch and your attitude. She will check in on you weekly to be certain you are complying; if you do not, you will be demoted and another will take your place. Understood?"

"Understood. Lord Yggdrasil." The last was almost spit out, but Yggdrasil ignored it. He had what he needed to communicate with Martel. Everything else was mere background noise.


End file.
